MAMMOTH LAKES – Three members of the Mammoth Mountain ski patrol were killed when they fell into a volcanic gas vent on the 11,053-foot peak in the Eastern Sierra on Thursday. One victim was identified by colleagues as an avalanche expert and university snow researcher.

A number of rescuers were overcome by gas and suffered minor injuries, said Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort spokeswoman Joani Lynch. She did not know if gas was the cause of the three deaths.

The tragedy was the latest in a string of accidents at Mammoth, where four skiers have died in a season marked by a record 52 feet of snowfall since October.

Accounts of the accident differed on whether all fell in the vent or whether one died attempting a rescue.

The three and another member of the experienced patrol team were inspecting the mountain after heavy snowstorms and were fencing off the vent, a natural hazard, when the snow around the opening collapsed at 11:29 a.m. and the patrollers fell 21 feet, Lynch said.

Other ski patrollers began rescue efforts and were assisted by local firefighters and paramedics, but only one of the four survived, Lynch said.

The resort and local officials did not release names of the victims. One of the dead, however, was identified as Walter Rosenthal, a researcher for UC Santa Barbara, said a UCSB spokesman.

Rosenthal, who was in his 40s, worked at the Sierra Nevada Aquatic Laboratory in Mammoth Lakes and was an expert in snow hydrology and remote sensing of snow.

Dave Hill, the chief Mammoth and Long Valley caldera scientist for the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, said the region has been quiet of volcanic activity for the past six years.

Join the Conversation

We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.

If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. Or, contact our editors by emailing moderator@scng.com.